


Birthright - Blood Ties

by FidgetGlitterBlossom



Series: Birthright [2]
Category: Sofia the First (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-08-02 11:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16304069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FidgetGlitterBlossom/pseuds/FidgetGlitterBlossom
Summary: Sofia isn't the first to be chosen, nor will she be the last. Standalone. Tie-in with Birthright.





	Birthright - Blood Ties

As the dust cleared from her latest victory, Nessa's eyes widened in astonishment. Standing before her was the familiar form of a boy, one who definitely should not be wandering around the playground at this time of night.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, her gaze leaving him just long enough to sweep their surroundings for any sign that there may be more danger lurking nearby.

"I wanted to ask you a favour", came his simple explanation.

Assured that they were relatively safe, for the moment at least, she sighed and tucked her stake into the top of her boot. "You should be home in bed", she insisted, offering her hand and smiling gently as he took it. "What do you need?"

"I want you to teach me to be brave, like you."

The request caught her off guard, and she studied him curiously. "I'm not– I don't do this because I'm brave", she confessed, giving his smaller hand a quick squeeze.

"You don't?" Large, dark eyes turned upwards to meet hers.

She shrugged her shoulders, becoming more aware of the weight that burdened them. "There isn't anyone else. If I didn't protect everyone, no one would." It was the only answer, but she was as unsatisfied with it as he appeared to be. "We should get you home. Your parents will be worried sick by now."

"They're your parents, too", he reminded her, but the truth to the statement didn't make the words any less foreign to her ears.

Her parents. Sure, they were the people that birthed her, but she couldn't remember a time that anyone besides her Watcher was in charge of her care. She truthfully didn't feel any sort of attachment to those people at all. "How come you don't live with us?"

"I told you that before. I had a mark on me when I was born, so my Watcher came and took me away to live with her."

She frowned to herself as the boy shivered, chilled by a breeze that was uncommonly cool for this time of year, and tugged off her cloak, settling it on her brother's shoulders.

"Before I was born", he added, drawing the over-sized cloak around him.

"That's right."

In fact, she hadn't even heard she had a brother until the boy took it upon himself to seek her out, tracking her to the next town over and showing up unannounced on her doorstep to make 'proper introductions'. He was a weird kid, smart as a whip but painfully shy, a little pudgier than she suspected other boys tended to be. Sweet and naive, and she was oddly inclined to protect that innocence, though whether it was due to their familial connection or her calling was still a mystery.

"My friends all live with their brothers and sisters", he persisted, but she stayed quiet, not sure what he wanted to hear from her.

It wasn't as though she could just change her mind — quit being the Slayer and move back into the home she didn't remember, the one where her brother was raised as a normal child. An only child, up to last spring.

"Hey, kid. How old are you, anyway?" It had never occurred to her to ask him before, strangely enough.

"Twelve." He stopped walking, drawing in a breath and looking up at her again. "I just graduated from primary last month."

"That old?" she murmured, half to herself, as they started up again.

Her birth mother must have already been with child again when she left home. Did they make another baby specifically to replace the one they knew they'd be sending away?

They wove the beaten paths that connected their two towns in silence until the palace came into view. The closer the pair came to his home, the more his pace slowed, until she was practically dragging him behind her.

"Come with me", he pleaded when they lingered near the front steps. "You can meet mom and dad. I'm sure they're still awake."

Nessa smiled apologetically, shaking her head at the request. "Can't, sorry. I have more hunting to do tonight." She could tell he was hesitating, but she really needed to get back out there. "I need you to stay inside until morning. Can you do that?"

"I don't want you to leave. I– I have a bad feeling, like something's going to happen." His voice took on a much higher pitch than usual, and Nessa debated accepting his offer just to make him feel better.

If it weren't for the fact that she had sworn to her Watcher she'd keep a close eye on things tonight, she might have done so.

"I'll be careful. I promise." She nudged him towards the entrance. "Now go."

* * *

He'd been tracking this particular vampire for a week, just waiting for him to make a mistake. Their numbers had surged recently, due — if rumours were to be believed — to the untimely demise of the most recent Slayer. They were like children throwing a party before mommy and daddy could come home and catch them in the act. He'd seen it before, after Nessa was killed. Hell, he'd cut his teeth slaughtering the fiends that flocked to the area in the weeks following her funeral. That night, the last one he ever saw her alive, he'd asked her a favour: teach him to be brave, to be fearless like her. He had to concede that, in a strange way, she had done exactly that.

He hadn't expected to find himself at Royal Prep. This long after sundown, the school was an unlikely place for the vampire to be hunting, and yet here he was. If the last four years had taught him anything, it was to be patient and wait for the perfect opportunity to present itself. He readied his stake, but otherwise held perfectly still, crouched behind one of the grand old trees that lined this section of the path between the school and the stables. A redhead passed, and he watched her curiously as she shivered, tugging her cape more securely around her. For warmth? Perhaps, but it was only early autumn, yet, and there was hardly even a breeze.

She slowed to a halt and glanced around cautiously. Her eyes darted in his direction, the moonlight causing her fair features to glow against the backdrop of the surrounding darkness, and he instinctively ducked further back among the bare branches to avoid detection, but that didn't stop him from getting a good look at her. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, with rosy cheeks, wide, bright eyes, and silky, russet curls that tumbled down beyond her shoulders. The unshakable sense of recognition didn't detract from his awe in the least.

So this was the monster's prey. Out here alone, too far for anyone to possibly come to her rescue. The set-up was perfect. But the question nagged him as she began to move again, headed toward the stables. _Why her?_ What made this girl so important that he'd come all this way just to catch her alone. A single answer came to mind, though he struggled to accept it. He couldn't believe it, because to entertain, even for an instant, the possibility that she was the next Slayer would inevitably lead to picturing her pale and motionless, like Nessa had been in her casket. That sort of diversion was not just unpleasant, it was dangerous. He had to keep his wits about him if he was going to—

The vampire moved like lightning, lunging out of the shadows to pounce on the girl just as she reached the stable's weathered doors, and he straightened up, ready to rush to her defence.

The crisp, distinct smell of magic preceded the green cloud that appeared just a few metres in front of him, the man that stepped out from the smoke, fortunately, too disorientated to notice him.

"Sofia!" the sorcerer called out, just before he turned to face away from the hiding spot. So the girl was Sofia Balthazaar. She'd grown quite a bit since the last time he'd seen her, but now that he'd heard her name, he could see that it was plainly her. He should have recognised those eyes.

The man's distinctive voice, paired with his unmistakable features made his identity painfully clear. Cedric the Sensational, son of Goodwyn the Great. From what he'd garnered in his research, the Watcher's Council ran on a combination of destiny and nepotism, and if the sorcerer was here, then one thing was certain — Sofia was fate's next sacrificial lamb, already as good as dead.


End file.
